WOMEN’S PROPERTY, MOBILITY AND DECISION-MAKING: EVIDENCE FROM RURAL KARNATAKA, INDIA

Hema Swaminathan, Rahul Lahoti, Suchitra J. Y.Centre for Public Policy

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

Annual Conference of the International Association for Feminist EconomicsBarcelona, June 27 2012

Motivation• Women’s asset ownership has several welfare

outcomes– Greater control over income– Improvements in prenatal care, children’s schooling

status, nutrition– Bargaining power – Reduced experience of violence

Property - Decision making - Welfare

Women’s asset

ownership

+ Bargaining power

(participation in decision-

making)

+ Schooling status

+ Nutrition

- Violence

Literature• Allendorf (2007): Nepal DHS – land ownership

enhances decision-making power pertaining to own health, household purchases, family visits

• Garikipati (2009): South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh – land + other productive assets leads to greater autonomy in household decision-making and labour markets

• Datta (2006): North Indian city of Chandigarh – joint titling policy enhances participation in household decision-making

Research Question

• What is the impact of women’s property ownership on their mobility and decision-making status?

Data and Methods• Data from the Gender Asset Gap Project (2010-

11)– Karnataka Household Asset Survey (KHAS)– Rural area focus

• Asset ownership of individuals– Enables a true gendered analysis instead of having to

rely on analysis based on sex of household head

• Valuation of assets

Asset Ownership

• Principal residence• Agricultural land

– Together account for 87% of gross physical worth in rural areas

• Two specifications:– Incidence of ownership – Share in household worth of these assets

Decision-making• Whether to be employed (1=decide

independently, 0 otherwise)

• Accessing health services (1=decide independently, 0 otherwise)

• Use of money (2=have money and decide independently, 1=have money and cannot decide independently, 0=no money)

Mobility

• Mobility – Market– Health facility– Outside the community

• Index combining the above – 1 if travel to all three alone, 0 otherwise

Empirical Specification

Endogeneity Concerns

• Instruments (?)

• Modes of asset acquisition– Use of assets acquired only exogenously by women:

natal inheritance, inheritance upon death of spouse, government programmes, gifts

– Assets acquired through modes that could be endogenous excluded: self-acquisition, natal inheritance of spouse

RESULTS

Incidence of Asset Ownership by Sex (%)

Asset categoryAll

menAll

women

Currently married women

Currently single

women

Principal residence 75 24 13 74

Agricultural land 60 13 6 40Total number of respondents 2,227 2,450 1,994 456

Asset Ownership and Mobility (%)

Asset ownership

Women allowed to travel alone to

Market Health facilityOther places

outside communityAll three

places

Women in households that do not own land or residence 65 63 57 50Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 60 53 53 46Women owners of either land or residence 84 76 76 70

All women

Asset ownership

Women allowed to travel alone to

Market Health facilityOther places

outside communityAll three

placesWomen in households that do not own land or residence 59 57 50 42Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 58 51 50 44Women owners of either land or residence 81 69 66 64

Currently married women

Asset Ownership and Decision-making (%)

All women

Currently married women

Asset ownership

Women's ability to make decisions aloneWhether to be

employedAccessing health

facilitySpending money of

their ownWomen in households that do not own land or residence 32 29 48Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 19 20 46Women owners of either land or residence 72 54 73

Asset ownership

Women's ability to make decisions alone

Whether to be employed

Accessing health facility

Spending money of their own

Women in households that do not own land or residence 20 16 39Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 13 16 43Women owners of either land or residence 36 33 65

Exogenously Acquired Assets

All women Currently married

womenOwning either house or land 15 6

Mean share in gross worth of house and land 7 2

Summary Statistics

Property Ownership, Mobility, and Decision-making: Marginal Effects

All women Owner of land or houseShare in worth of house

and landMobility 0.092*** 0.091*Employment 0.171*** 0.140***Access to health service 0.083*** 0.033Have money and can decide 0.100*** 0.098*

Currently married women Owner of land or houseShare in worth of house

and landMobility 0.134*** 0.299***Employment 0.074** 0.077*Access to health service 0.081** 0.142***Have money and can decide 0.092 0.132

0.1

.2.3

.4.5

.6.7

.8.9

1P

red

icte

d p

rob

ab

ility

(H

igh

ly m

ob

ile a

nd

ind

ep

en

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eci

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nm

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)

0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1Women's share in property value

Mobility EmploymentHealth Money

Source: Authors' calculations. KHAS 2010-11.

Predicted Probability for Wealth Shares, All Women

0.1

.2.3

.4.5

.6.7

.8.9

1P

red

icte

d p

rob

ab

ility

(H

igh

er

mo

bili

ty a

nd

ind

ep

en

de

nt d

eci

sio

nm

aki

ng

)

0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1Women's share in property value

Mobility EmploymentHealth Money

Source: Authors' calculations. KHAS 2010-11.

Predicted Probability for Wealth Shares, Currently Married Women

Other determinants – Incidence specification

Variables

All women Currently married women

Mobility EmploymentHealth service

Use of money Mobility Employment

Health service

Use of money

Occupation (base: homemaker)Wage employed (+) *** (+) ** (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) ** (+) **Self employed (+) *** (+) * (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) ***Casual worker (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) ***Contributing family worker (+) *** (+) ** (+) *** (+) ** (+) * (+) ***Education (base: illiterate)Secondary (+) *Higher secondary (+) * (+) *Diploma and above (+) ** (+) ** (+) ** (+) ***Age (+) *** (+) *** (+) ** (+) ** (+) *** (+) *** (+) ** (+) **Number of observations 2,427 2,425 2,417 2,422 1,977 1,976 1,972 1,974

Other determinants – Incidence specification

Variables

All women Currently married women

Mobility EmploymentHealth service

Use of money Mobility Employment

Health service

Use of money

Currently married (base: currently single) (-) *** (-) *** (-) *** (-) ***Spouse present (-) * (-)*** (-)*** (-)***Islam (base: Hindu) (-) *** (-) ** (-) ***Caste (base: Forward Caste and other)Backward and Other Backward Caste (-) ** (-) * (-) * (-) *Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (-) ** (-) *No. adult men in hh (-) *** (-) *** (-) *** (-) * (-) *No. adult women in hh (-) ** (-) **Household wealth (base: bottom 20%)Middle 40% (-) ** (-) ** (-) *** (-) ***Top 40% (-) *** (-) *** (-) * (-) *** (-) * Number of observations 2,427 2,425 2,417 2,422 1,977 1,976 1,972 1,974

Concluding thoughts• Vast gender asset gap prevails in home and land

ownership

• Women’s channels of asset acquisition overall are restricted

• Property ownership enhances their ability to travel alone and independently make decisions in areas important to their lives

• Role of employment – any form of employment improves autonomy

• Education – not as strong an impact as expected

• Household economic status – negative impact

Thank You!

For the country studies & comparative report see:

http://genderassetgap.iimb.ernet.in

Indian Institute of Management BangaloreBannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 560 076, INDIA

www.iimb.ernet.in